THE FOODPATH BLOG

We decided to write a blog to let you know some of the fabulous food related things that happen in the Southern Highlands all the time. Keep checking back here to see what is going on. Get to know what hidden treasures we have and if you want to find out more - come on one of our tours and meet the people who grow our food.

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Click on our TOURS page to see our latest trips. If you can get a group together we can organise a tour just for you! Minimum 6 people. Contact us to discuss.

Visits

About Us...

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Jill Dyson,
Southern Highlands, NSW, Australia
Click on the link to read Jill's latest blog post. Jill has been running FoodPath in the Southern Highlands of NSW with her partner Nick since April 2010. They have grown the business to a level where they now include a range of activities including tours, workshops and collaboration with others (cooking schools, wineries, etc). During the past 10 years Jill and Nick have got to know the local producers and continue to promote and support these local small businesses. They have organised and run many food related activities including taste education workshops and producer visits. It was after they organised a successful tour for a group of chefs from some of the best restaurants in Sydney that they realised they could turn their interest into a business - and this led to the setting up of FoodPath - Culinary Tours with a Difference. Now Jill and Nick are working closely with Southern Highlands Tourism and Wingecarribee Council to help raise the profile of their area as a food destination where everyone will benefit - tourists, local consumers and the producers themselves.
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About Us...

Nick Padol, Southern Highlands, NSW, Australia.

Nick with his partner Jill has been running their business FoodPath in the Southern Highlands since April 2010. His motivation was to share his knowledge by taking others on a journey to discover local and regional food.

At the age of 4 when Nick had his first taste of coffee with his father at Andronicus’ Coffee Shop in Sydney he developed an interest in all things gastronomic. At the age of 24 his father gave him his 1st copy of Larousse Gastronomique. He now has an extensive library of cook books and he hasn’t looked back.

Not only is Nick an excellent cook and host with an interest in the cuisine of many cultures but he is also a food writer and cheese and coffee judge. He has been involved in regional food and wine related projects over the years and was an active member of Slow Food for 9 years.


PRODUCE INCLUDES:

Apples

Blackberries

Blueberries

Raspberries

Gooseberries

Grapes

Potatoes

Truffles

Garlic

Olives

Asparagus

Mushrooms

Cheese - cow, goat, sheep

Beef

Goat

Lamb

Eggs - hen, duck

Poultry

Pigs

Hazelnuts

Chestnuts

Vegetables

Jams and vinegars

Wine

Sunday, June 30, 2013
Thank you for a fabulous day! Interesting stall holders, wonderful food and great company. Thanks (Dell, Mittagong)

A note to thank you for a really enjoyable day. It was all we expected and more. We would love to come back in the Springtime, so keep us in the loop please. Very nice people around the table, such a lovely way to spend a Sunday. (Chris, Mittagong)
Saturday, June 29, 2013
We have a preserving class with Steve Hogwood of the 1910 Bottling Company scheduled on Sun 4 Aug. This time it will be on Pickling and Fermenting.

This is an interesting topic and covers the history and health benefits of fermenting food.
Our venue has changed to Eling Forest Estate which is on the Hume Highway at Sutton Forest, just before the Moss Vale/Canyonleigh exit - about 1.5hrs from Sydney. Steve runs his business from Eling Forest now and this is a beautiful historic location, well worth a visit.

Date: Sun 4 Aug 2013
Time 10am - 1pm
Price: $105
Inclusions: Tea/coffee on arrival, DVD with handouts, a jar to take home and a light lunch of crusty bread, cheese and Steve's pickles.

If you are interested in pickling and would like to come to our Pickling and Fermenting workshop contact us from www.foodpath.com.au and we will email you a booking form.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013


Come with us to visit a family friendly farm in the Southern Highlands.

Colin and Kaaren have a range of farmyard animals at their home on Oxleys Hill out of Bowral for their own family – and they would like to share them with us this school holidays.

Get ready to feed all the animals including alpacas and Highland cows, collect the chicken eggs, play with the mini goats, take the mini pigs for a walk and cuddle the rabbits.

A very picturesque venue with a sense of fun – wait until you see the smart chook house and the nesting box!

Date:          Wed 3 July 2013
Venue:        Meet at the Rotary lookout on Oxley Hill Rd, Bowral
Time:           10.30 – 12
Price:          Child (3-12yrs) $15.
Adults $35.
Children under 3yrs free.

NB. Children to be supervised by their accompanying adults at all times.

Contact us from the website for bookings or more information or ring Jill on 0419 617 021. Join the mailing list for updates.

(Minimum numbers apply)



Saturday, June 22, 2013
We now have two dates confirmed for our truffle tours to Ted and Barbara's farm near Robertson! This is special because not many truffle farms will let you visit.

  • Sat 27 July
  • Sun 18 Aug
Other tours can be organised for group of 10 or more.



It is Winter so make sure you dress appropriately. Warm up at the outdoor fire in a pit on arrival, tea or coffee, talk and powerpoint presentation, walk to the trufferie, see the truffle dog in action, discover truffles around the oak trees, finish with a tasting of truffle treats.

Meet at the Old Cheese Factory cafe in Robertson at 10am.
Follow us to the farm nearby
Tour runs from 10.30 -12.
Price: $55 
To book contact us - www.foodpath.comau, info@foodpath.com.au or m: 04i9 617 021 and we will email you a booking form
Friday, June 21, 2013
I think that today is the first time I have ever eaten truffle on the day that it was harvested! Actually I can count on one hand the number of times I have eaten truffle or even seen them - which makes today all the more special.
 
This afternoon we met with Ted Smith who has a trufferie near Robertson. Last year they found their first truffles and we wanted to ask if we could run some Truffle Tours this year.
Ted brought with him a small 40g truffle beautifully packaged and labelled. The pungent smell was strong and unmistakable.
 
After some discussion Ted agreed that we could run tours with a minimum of 10 people - as long as his supply of truffles holds up. Very exciting. They are well set up and a tour will include a welcoming cup of tea or coffee, a talk in the hay shed about growing truffles, a visit to the trufferie where we will see the truffle dog in action. We will finish with a tasty truffle treat.
I will write up the tour description and pop it on the website as soon as we have confirmed dates.
Nick from ABC Illawarra radio has already asked if he can come along - it is an unusual tour and will be popular, I'm sure.

Saturday, June 15, 2013
Saw Biddy today at the Mittagong Market and she is keen to do more Jam Making Classes. She loved it and so did we!
Spoke to several people who were sorry they missed out - so, all being well, we should have our minimum numbers (group of 8) soon and can set another date.
Let us know if you would like to come?
Includes morning tea on arrival and light lunch at the end with tastings of all Biddy's wonderful products - parmesan biscuits, flourless fruit cake, duck and chick liver terrine.
Next time we will ask Biddy's French husband to come along too - because he is part of the team.
Date: To be confirmed
Venue: The Cookability Kitchen, Bowral
Time: 10am - 1pm
Price: $85


We have had two private tours during the past week.
First we had a couple who badly wanted to visit an alpaca farm - so we were able to organise that and they loved it.
On Thursday we took another couple to a cooking class and lunch at Feast@McVitty followed by a guided wine and cheese tasting at Tertini Wines - then we led the way to their accommodation at Pines Pastoral, near Moss Vale.


Very personalised and I enjoyed it. Definitely a new product for FoodPath to add to our growing repertoire.
Privately hosted tours are good for people with visitors from out of the area who want to learn about the food and wine of the Southern Highlands.


Friday, June 14, 2013

We have been wanting to team up with Annie and Philip from Feast@McVitty for a long time and have now come up with a nice combination of cooking class and lunch followed by a wine tasting and cheese tasting at nearby Tertini Wines.


Come to a cooking class with Anne Holloway, chef and business owner at Feast@McVitty – a very special restaurant in a rural setting out of Mittagong. 

On what was once McVitty Grove Wines the view out the restaurant window is extensive - check the photo below. 

Learn professional skills from Anne who is a restaurant chef and caterer with many years experience. Run on Thursdays she will be preparing a range of selected dishes from the restaurant menus. This is a demonstration style class including tastings of each dish created. Written recipes and notes provided. Includes a complementary glass of wine.

After lunch follow us to Tertini Wines nearby for a tasting of award winning wines and local artisan cheeses. Hear about the cheese makers and the cheeses from Nick, our FoodPath cheese expert. What a nice way to spend the day?

Date:          Thurs 20 June, 5.30 – 8.30pm (cooking class only) 
Price:          $65 per person
Date:          Thurs 4 July, 11am – 3pm (cooking class and wine/cheese tasting)
Price:          $85 per person


To book contact us on info@foodpath.com.au or ring Jill on 0419 617 021.

Please forward to your friends and share on Facebook and Twitter.

Minimum numbers apply 

Saturday, June 1, 2013
Had a call at midday today asking if we could take a conference group on a tour this afternoon. Their scheduled activity was cancelled at short notice and they were in a spot. We like to personalise tours for private groups and soon ascertained that this group wanted to visit wineries - so we made a few phone calls and were quickly able to put together a nice itinerary visiting Centennial Winery, Bendooley Estate and Tertini.
As you know we normally run food tours - but we are flexible and this was fun.

Groups are our main focus these days so don't forget if you have a bunch of friends, family or work mates we can put something together for you - even at short notice, just give us a call - m: 0419 617 021 or info@foodpath.com.au



In earl April I was asked by Destination NSW to escort Christina Pfeiffer for a day in the Southern Highlands and to introduce her to some of the interesting people behind out local food. She was writing an article for the Wellbeing magazine - which is expected to be in the June edition.
Christina also videos her travels and with help from her husband she produces short "webisodes" which she loads onto her online channel TRAVELTHERENEXT TV (www.traveltherenext.tv).
In the Highlands she spent about 3 days and she is now launching a series of webisodes weekly on Friday for the next 8 weeks. The first one was released on Fri 31 May and is about FoodPath and our day together - click on the link http://youtu.be/QbHEYSkcr1I
We are so grateful for exposure like this which is very helpful to businesses like ours!